This application claims the priority of German Application No. 10 2005 027 510.9, filed Jun. 15, 2005, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a loading floor for a cargo space of a vehicle, which includes a section which is fixed to the vehicle, cannot be displaced and, viewed in the driving direction, is arranged in the front in the cargo space, and also includes a section which can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
A movable loading floor for a cargo space of a vehicle is known from German Patent document DE 103 17 539 A1. The vehicle has a seat arrangement which is situated in front of the cargo space and can be changed from its in-use position into a not-in-use position, and the loading floor can then be moved into the area taken up by the seat arrangement in its in-use position.
It is an object of the invention to create a loading floor for a cargo space of a vehicle, which permits a comfortable loading and unloading of the cargo space.
This object is achieved by providing a motor vehicle having a loading floor for a vehicle cargo space which includes a section which is fixed to the vehicle, cannot be displaced and, viewed in the driving direction, is arranged in the front in the cargo space, and also includes a section which can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The two sections each extend over the entire width of the cargo space, with the displaceable section being displaceable over the section fixed to the vehicle. The displaceable section is lowerable, viewed in the driving direction, in its most rearward position in the cargo space, so that it adjoins the vehicle-fixed section flush with the surface.
According to the invention, a loading floor for a cargo space of a vehicle includes a section which is fixed to the vehicle, cannot be displaced and, viewed in the driving direction, is arranged in the front in the cargo space, and of a section which can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The two sections each extend over the entire width of the cargo space, the displaceable section being displaceable over the section fixed to the vehicle. In its most rearward position—viewed in the driving direction—, the displaceable section can be lowered in the cargo space, so that it adjoins the section fixed to the vehicle flush with the surface.
For explaining the advantages of the invention, a passenger car constructed as a station wagon is described here, which has a large tailgate for loading the cargo space. When a heavy or large object to be transported is to be loaded, the latter is normally first deposited in the rearward area of the cargo space close to the rear opening. If the vehicle has a loading floor according to the invention, the object can be deposited on the displaceable section which is situated in the rearward position. The displaceable section (with the object deposited thereon) can now, with a low expenditure of force, be displaced toward the front, viewed in the driving direction, so that the rearward, easily accessible area of the cargo space will be free again for loading additional objects. Inversely, the object can also at any time be easily displaced together with the displaceable section back toward the loading opening, so that it can be unloaded with little effort. Nevertheless, in the case of very large objects, a loading floor is available which is flat over the entire surface of the cargo space, when the displaceable section is in the rearward lowered position. As a result, there is no jump in height between the section fixed to the vehicle and the displaceable section, so that the loading and unloading of large objects extending over both sections is not made difficult. The arrangement according to the invention, therefore, permits a comfortable loading and unloading of the cargo space.
Preferably, a locking mechanism prevents the displaceable section from being displaced in the driving direction when it is in a completely or partially lowered position. In this manner, it is ensured that the displaceable section cannot collide with the section fixed to the vehicle. This also ensures that, in the event of an accident, the displaceable section cannot undesirably shift toward the front on its own.
A particularly advantageous further development of the lowering and lifting mechanism consists of the fact that at least one carriage is guided on the displaceable section, which carriage has a guideway sloped in the lifting direction for a pin fixed to the vehicle in the cargo space, so that, by displacement of the carriage on the displaceable section, the latter is lowered or lifted. The displacement of the carriage may take place by a cable control which, in turn, may be operable by an operating element mounted on the displaceable section.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.